Estate Planning
DS Legacy Law specializes in a wide array of estate planning. This includes estate planning for young families with minor children; succession planning for businesses, farms, and real estate; Medicaid/Title 19 planning, utilizing a variety of strategies to safeguard assets from long term care spenddown and estate recovery; special needs planning for disabled individuals and family members looking to provide for disabled relatives during lifetime or on death; blended family planning; planning for families in conflict; planning for beneficiaries with spendthrift or other unique issues; tax planning for qualified retirement accounts; tax planning for high net worth clients with estate/transfer tax exposure; charitable tax planning (through the use of charitable trusts and other techniques); and many others.
Through the use of Wills, Revocable Trusts, Irrevocable Trusts, Marital Property Agreements, Powers of Attorney, and other tools, DS Legacy Law will ensure that your wealth is transitioned in accordance with your wishes, free of court involvement and taxes, and with maximum asset protection.
The hallmark of DS Legacy Law is to listen, educate, and assist you in tailoring an estate plan that best meets your needs, goals, and budget, with competent representation and counsel both now and in the future.
Estate Administration
DS Legacy Law provides quality representation in probate administration (including formal, informal, and special administration), trust administration (including administration of revocable and irrevocable trusts), small estate administration (through affidavits), processing payout of survivorship transfers and beneficiary, POD, and TOD designations, and all other forms of estate administration. This includes not only educating and assisting with the logistics of the process, but also providing tax advice as it relates to qualified accounts, tax-deferred annuities, and other issues.
Whether as an heir, beneficiary, trustee, or personal representative, our goal is to guide you through the appropriate legal process as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, accomplishing the goals of the deceased while also ensuring that you are legally protected and that you comply with any applicable fiduciary duties.
Real Estate
At DS Legacy Law, we routinely assist with a wide variety of real estate matters, including negotiation, preparation, and revisions to Offers to Purchase and other real estate contracts; coordinating and reviewing title work and resolving title issues; coordinating and handling real estate closings; preparing and recording deeds; orchestrating options for gifting homes and other real estate to family, with or without reserved occupancy rights; lease drafting, negotiation, and review; land contracts and other seller-financing arrangements; execution of mortgages; facilitating surveys and land divisions; and assisting in the development of real estate.
Whether your matter involves residential, commercial, or farm real estate, DS Legacy Law is here to assist.
Business
DS Legacy Law provides experienced service in the area of business and corporate law, including the start-up of operating entities and holding entities (including Business or Service Corporations and Limited Liability Companies); contract drafting, negotiation, and review; preparation of annual meeting minutes and corporate resolutions; company book updates; drafting and coordination of buy-sell and other succession agreements; and the start-up and representation of non-profit corporations.
Regardless of the nature of your business, we can ensure that an appropriate legal entity is created, coordinated, and serviced for years to come.
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”
“What makes greatness is starting something that lives after you.”
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
“A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there.”
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
“Estate planning is an important and everlasting gift you can give your family. And setting up a smooth inheritance isn’t as hard as you might think.”